So I'm sitting there ready to chill after a long day at my desk when the phone rings. The young woman at the other end of the line wants to know if I am who her computer says I am. Yeah, that's me, I say. And she starts asking my opinion of how everything is going in New York state, the governor, the legislature, the city council, various politicians, unions in general, unions in specific, public service unions in even more specificity, the city's budget problems, and finally New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.

Ah, Mayor Mike. A man of the people, and the 23rd richest person in the world. On the one hand, I applaud his efforts to discourage smoking. On the other hand, I promised myself that I would never forgive him for not allowing the hundreds of thousands of protesters who marched by the Republican convention in 2004 to have a rally in Central Park. But he's refused to be a demagogue about the mosque near the World Trade Center. Can you imagine what that fascist hambone Giuliani would have said about the mosque if he was still mayor? So that's kinda okay. But he's a tool of Wall Street and the real estate sleazebags. And he appointed some idiot magazine editor to be head of the public schools...

Sir? Sir?

He's just another rich guy who thinks a hotshot business executive like himself could solve all our problems if he was president, and he's getting his name mentioned as a presidential candidate by columnists who figure they might have to write for Bloomberg News some day, because everyone else is going out of business.

Sir? Do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove of New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg?

I would say strongly disapprove, with the proviso that he's not the worst bag of dirt in American politics.

Sir, will you almost certainly vote, probably vote, probably not vote, almost certainly not vote in the 2012 election?

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Probably vote. If there's a candidate.

Have you heard of Mayor Mike Bloomberg's efforts to transfer control of city pensions in the public service sector from Albany back to New York City?

No, I haven't heard of his plan.

Well, Mayor Mike Bloomberg has a plan to close the $4 billion city budget gap. His plan is to have the city council take control of the service union pensions from the state legislature. What do you think of Mayor Mike's plan? Do you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove?

I want to know more about his plan to close the $4 billion city budget gap before I render an opinion.

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So does that mean you strongly approve, somewhat approve, somewhat disapprove, or strongly disapprove?